How many spots is too many?

[Abishai]

So I have about 30 areas on post that I've either hunted before or Google-scouted that I think might work. I keep a log and I usually hunt 25-35 days per year. That means I could potentially hunt a different spot every single day that I go out.

A few problems I run into is having spot-overload and not being able to choose which spot to hit at a given time. I don't have 50 gamecams put out to let me know when deer are moving at a particular place. Wind direction, people pressure, and accessibility narrow down a few but still leaves a dozen options. Do I just inny mini miny mo to decide where to go?

Next question, with the chance that I could hunt a different place every single time out, how long should I give each place that I hunt before moving onto another one? Would it be better for me to simply have about 5 spots total and hunt those about a week a piece to up my kill odds? Or is having as many as I have a good thing? I guess if nothing else it limits pressure and gives a change of scenery.

Thanks for the help!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[tbunao]

You can never have enough spots. Having multiple choices are great for those days when you can not get into your best spots. From your scouting and summer observations/cams you should have a good idea on your best spots. All other spot take it as learning a new area and have a notebook ready. You may learn valuable Intel in those areas for when a buck of whatever calibur you chose maybe using it.

Have fun, get funky with it, try something new in those lesser areas.

Good luck

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[whitetailassasin]

There is a thread somewhere about this very thing. May help you.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[rbuckleyjr1]

Sounds like you have a lot of spots, but don't have them really nailed down yet. You say wind direction and accessibility help narrow them down, which is a good place to start. I think it sounds like you need to do set some observation sits or some glassing and try to gather more intel on what the bucks are doing in your area. If you can see what they are doing it will help you narrow down the areas you want to focus on hunting. Also, try to narrow down the areas by early season/ late season, food source/ crop rotation, water source, buck specific bedding etc.

As far as how long you should hunt an area is really indicative on what you're seeing. If the sign tells you they are there, keep hunting and tweak your setups for an ambush; if not move on.

Good luck! I hear that area holds some giants. Thanks for your service.

[E72]

I say it depends on your goal . Are you only hunting for a mature deer or will any buck do? 30 places to hunt but what does the ground tell you that day? The amount of sign , fresh sign and do I feel it was made by a larger buck determines where I hunt and for how long I hunt there. If nothing pans out after a couple sits , I'll put my stand on my back and scout those other spots for better sign. In October I'm scouting more than I'm sitting stands these days . November I scout too but if don't find the freshest sign I will still jump into a funnel or close to thick cover because bucks can be moving anywhere at that time.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[tgreeno]

Alot of guys on here, in-season scout as much if not more than they hunt. Then hunt the fresh sign. I let the sign tell me where I'm going to hunt. Start with your most promising spot based on pre-season scouting, and go from their.

[headgear]

I've got at least 100 spots I could hunt, maybe double that not really sure. I never hunt them all but do hunt some 2-3 times a year, some in early season and other prime/late season. You really need to rank your locations and also categorize them by time of year, that will help narrow things down a bit. Once you have it narrowed down you can scout those areas from a distance and see if a buck is in the area, once you know there is a big guy around you focus on the beds in that area and try to pick him off. The only problem is it's much easier to type this than it is to actually pull it off. I've hunted a pile of sets where the sign was super fresh and all over the place and the buck was a no show so timing is key, right place, right time, right buck, then finally you have to make a fatal shot. A lot has to go right.

[seazofcheeze]

I think this is where details of scouting come in. What's the preferred food source for the timing of your hunt...that will narrow it down. Look at wind for that day, narrow it down some more. Areas you've spotted target bucks, spotting, glassing, or historically holds big bucks, narrow it down more. Did last seasons sign look like early season, rut, late season? Narrow it down some more. Out of 30, after that kind of evaluation you might only have 3-4 left...by the time you hunt those, the woods will have changed enough that it will be time to re-evaluate all those factors.

[ Post made via Android ]

[fishlips]

I've got at least 100 spots I could hunt, maybe double that not really sure. I never hunt them all but do hunt some 2-3 times a year, some in early season and other prime/late season. You really need to rank your locations and also categorize them by time of year, that will help narrow things down a bit. Once you have it narrowed down you can scout those areas from a distance and see if a buck is in the area, once you know there is a big guy around you focus on the beds in that area and try to pick him off. The only problem is it's much easier to type this than it is to actually pull it off. I've hunted a pile of sets where the sign was super fresh and all over the place and the buck was a no show so timing is key, right place, right time, right buck, then finally you have to make a fatal shot. A lot has to go right.

X2. If i have learned anything it's that you should be hunting your best spots every year. It can be easy to accumulate a good # of ok spots but it has been a mistake for me to hunt those marginal spots over the good stuff.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Hawthorne]

I think it takes years to get a season full of good spots. To be able to learn them like you need to could take a lifetime. I think most guys that kill good bucks do them on 2-3 spots. We are only one person. Can only be one place at a time hunting. By a spot I don't mean one tree stand location. It could be an area of 1000 acres. Is it better to know a little about alot or alot about a little?

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[justdirtyfun]

I think it takes years to get a season full of good spots. To be able to learn them like you need to could take a lifetime. I think most guys that kill good bucks do them on 2-3 spots. We are only one person. Can only be one place at a time hunting. By a spot I don't mean one tree stand location. It could be an area of 1000 acres. Is it better to know a little about alot or alot about a little?

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Well for me, a spot is by definition a killing location. 20-50 yards more or less where it should happen. So that ties into knowing a lot about a little.
As someone learns an area and deer movement, the property seems smaller simply because acreage is eliminated as a possible spot.
With 3 season's of post scouting and time on stand I'm comfortable looking at this season. But,my goal is only high quality hunts where a nice Buck should be nearby. Been daydreaming about a few of those spots a few years without hunting them. That is eating at me a little. Maybe I have too many spots?

[ Post made via Android ]

[JoeRE]

Yea we talked about this topic a few weeks ago.

I like to have at least twice as many spots as I can hunt, then I try to rank them and hit the "best" half or so.

Don't forget to improvise as the season goes on though based on what you are seeing...part of the benefit of being mobile, you can ALWAYS find another spot.

[Kraftd]

I think some of it is what a spot means. To some guys a spot is a bedding area or bed with a prepped tree or ground blind. Right now to me I have some of those, but a whole mess of other :spots" that are generally cyber scouted or real quick boots on the ground. As far as those spots, it's almost as many as I want to call it. I still like to do a number of pick a property, do a quick cyber scout and head out with a stand hunts every year. They are fun to me, and helps me hone in on more refined spots.

[Stanley]

I've kind of touched on this before. 10 good spots is more productive that 30 junky spots. Sometimes we tend to hunt a spot even though we are pretty sure it won't produce. This is why I promote quality over quantity. If you sit in a junky spot you are merely padding time in the stand. I would rather stay home and watch football than spend time in non productive spots. The fresher you keep yourself, the longer you can grind it out if necessary.

[Kraftd]

I've kind of touched on this before. 10 good spots is more productive that 30 junky spots. Sometimes we tend to hunt a spot even though we are pretty sure it won't produce. This is why I promote quality over quantity. If you sit in a junky spot you are merely padding time in the stand. I would rather stay home and watch football than spend time in non productive spots. The fresher you keep yourself, the longer you can grind it out if necessary.

Or just keep the feet moving and scout with your bow at that point. That's where I am.